World Liberty Brings $4B USD1 Stablecoin to Canton for RWA Settlement

World Liberty Financial is taking its USD1 stablecoin deeper into institutional blockchain infrastructure, launching the dollar-pegged token natively on the Canton Network as the stablecoin surpasses $4 billion in circulation.

The Aug. 25 launch positions USD1 as a settlement asset for tokenized real-world assets and other institutional financial activity on Canton, a public blockchain designed for regulated financial markets with privacy and permissioning features.

The move comes as World Liberty faces continued scrutiny over its links to U.S. President Donald Trump and his family. In an Aug. 25 CNBC interview, World Liberty Financial CEO Zach Witkoff pointed to USD1's circulation and trading activity as evidence that the stablecoin has developed genuine market demand rather than relying primarily on its political connections.

USD1 moves into institutional settlement

USD1 is now natively issued on Canton, allowing it to operate alongside tokenized assets within the network's transaction infrastructure.

World Liberty said the stablecoin can support settlement for transactions involving tokenized securities and other real-world assets, as well as applications including derivatives collateral, institutional lending, and asset issuance and redemptions.

The integration is significant because stablecoins can provide the cash leg for transactions involving tokenized assets. Rather than moving a tokenized security onchain while settling the corresponding payment through separate financial infrastructure, a stablecoin can allow both sides of a transaction to be represented and settled within the same blockchain environment.

World Liberty said USD1 has surpassed $4 billion in circulation since its launch in March 2025. The stablecoin is issued by BitGo Bank & Trust, which manages its reserves and processes mints and redemptions. According to World Liberty, the reserves are backed by short-term U.S. Treasurys, U.S. government money-market funds, U.S. dollar deposits and other cash equivalents.

The company has also disclosed that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has granted preliminary conditional approval to organize World Liberty Trust Company, a proposed national trust bank intended to conduct stablecoin-related activities under federal supervision.

A stablecoin seeks a role in tokenized finance

The Canton integration reflects a broader shift in the stablecoin market.

Stablecoins initially gained traction primarily as a settlement and trading instrument within crypto markets. Their potential role is now expanding toward tokenized securities, institutional payments, collateral and other financial-market applications.

For USD1, Canton provides an infrastructure focused specifically on regulated financial activity. The network's privacy and permissioning features are designed to accommodate institutions that may not be able to conduct sensitive financial transactions on fully transparent public blockchains.

The development therefore gives USD1 a potential role beyond crypto trading: serving as dollar-denominated infrastructure for transactions involving tokenized traditional assets.

That distinction is important as financial institutions increasingly explore blockchain-based representations of securities, funds and other real-world assets.

World Liberty points to adoption amid political scrutiny

The Canton launch also comes against a backdrop of controversy surrounding World Liberty Financial's connections to the Trump family.

Critics have raised concerns over potential conflicts of interest and whether political connections could influence demand for World Liberty's products.

Witkoff rejected those concerns in an interview with CNBC on Aug. 25, arguing that USD1's market activity demonstrates that customers are using the stablecoin for its financial utility. He said more than $4 billion of USD1 was in circulation and cited more than $1 billion in daily trading volume, including $1.7 billion in the 24 hours preceding the interview.

Those figures demonstrate market activity, but they do not by themselves resolve questions about conflicts of interest or the factors driving demand for USD1. The stablecoin's expanding circulation instead provides World Liberty with a commercial metric it can point to as it seeks to establish the asset as a broader financial-market instrument.

From political scrutiny to financial infrastructure

The Canton deployment gives World Liberty another avenue to expand USD1's utility while the stablecoin market increasingly moves toward regulated financial applications.

The key test for USD1 will be whether its growing circulation translates into sustained use across payments, tokenized assets, collateral and institutional settlement, rather than remaining concentrated in crypto-market trading.

By placing USD1 directly on a blockchain designed around institutional financial markets, World Liberty is positioning the stablecoin as more than a dollar-denominated crypto asset.

It is attempting to make USD1 part of the settlement infrastructure for tokenized finance.